5 Ideas for Budget Friendly Christmas Lawn Decorations

You love celebrating the Christmas season with outlandish lawn decorations, but this year you have to keep an eye on your budget, too. Fortunately, you don't have to choose between buying Christmas decorations and buying Christmas presents. Here are easy, affordable ways to decorate your lawn for Christmas.

Light It Up

Clear or colorful Christmas lights are an easy and affordable way to decorate your lawn for Christmas. Simply outlining your house, trees, driveway, sidewalk, even mailbox will create a beautiful lighted affect at night. Better Homes and Gardens even suggests wrapping up an old bicycle. Christmas lights come cheap, too. If you don't have some already, first check out your local auctions and yard sales, where I've seen giant boxes of Christmas lights go for as cheap as $2. Or, you can find 31 feet of clear mini lights at Wal-Mart for $24.99. Target sells 100 Christmas lights on a 37 foot string for $23.56 and smaller strings of blue Christmas lights for under $10.

Other light-up Christmas decorations can be inexpensive, as well. For example, Target sells 28" "Snowflake Pathway Marker" for $17.99. If the thought of paying for all the electricity for these light-up Christmas yard decorations has you feeling a little sick, try Target's "Phillips Solar Lawn Stake." For $14.99 you get one white snowflake on a stick that uses the power of the sun to glow at night.

Build It Yourself

If you've got basic tools and woodworking skills, you can save money by building your own Christmas lawn decorations. Visit Back Yard Spaces.com for very easy plans for building presents, Christmas trees, and more. A sheet of plywood and a jigsaw or sabre saw is all these projects need.

Craft It Yourself

Even if you aren't a woodworker, you can still create beautiful Christmas lawn decorations with very few supplies. Better Homes and Gardens has an enchanting Blossoming Bow Door Trim that works as well for railings, mailboxes and trees. Their Ice Luminaries are also simple to make and add much to your Christmas lawn décor.

Let It Snow

Why spend money on a plastic snowman decoration for your lawn when nature has given you everything you need to make the original? If you live in an area that can rely on having a white Christmas, take advantage of the snow to build your own Christmas lawn decorations for free. Snowmen are traditional, but not the only option for a snow-constructed Christmas lawn decoration. Check out Gene Germain's detailed guide for making a snow sculpture, or look to the Canadian Snow Sculpting Team for inspiration.

Scrounge Around

Some beautiful Christmas lawn decorations may be right under your nose. With a little creativity, you can use what you already have to decorate your lawn for Christmas without spending a dime. Better Homes and Gardens has instructions for a wheelbarrow display using pine cones, greenery and more. They also have easy directions for turning ordinary soup cans and other metal cans into luminaries.

This Christmas season, save your money for the presents, but don't skimp on your Christmas lawn decorations. With a little work and creativity, you can have an affordable, beautifully decorated lawn.